Mmusi Maimane said the DA would take the water to another community that needed it.
The police escorted Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary leader Mmusi Maimane out of Tsakane near Brakpan in Gauteng after his water delivery programme was interrupted on Wednesday.
Maimane brought two water tankers to deliver water to the community in Section 17, but a group of people wearing ANC T-shirts chanted and booed Maimane when he arrived.
“Go away,” they chanted. Some carried placards accusing the DA of selling water to them. “Maimane go and sell your water to [DA leader Helen] Zille,” read one.
Resident Bila Ndou said the DA had asked people to sign up for party membership before the water was delivered. “This is how they sell the water.”
“Where have the DA been three weeks ago, now that the situation was under control they show their face,” said resident Kabo Mhlazi.
‘No crisis’
He asked why DA members wore party T-shirts and claimed to deliver water for the community. “The municipality is providing us with water. There is no crisis.”
Maimane said the two tankers were taken to a safe place. “I am here to deliver water, not to incite violence. The water will be taken to another community that needs it,” he said.
He denied that the DA wanted people to sign up for party membership in exchange for water. “This is nonsense. We have never asked for membership,” he said. “We compiled a petition, and [were] not recruiting members.”
The crowd dispersed peacefully after Maimane left.
Parts of Gauteng have experienced severe water shortages in past weeks, which Water and Sanitation Minister Nomvula Mokonyane blamed on a “technical glitch” and the theft of electricity cables that keep water supply flowing. – Sapa